If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Calling All Eagle Scouts!

Mike recently responded to a dad's request for help in convincing his 13 year old son to finish scouting with only a year and half left to go. Thought you'd be interested in his reply (and be sure and check out the opportunity FOR ALL EAGLE SCOUTS down at the bottom):

Kelby,

Your Dad asked me to drop you a line and say something inspirational that might persuade you to dig down deep and find the determination to make the rank of Eagle Scout. It's a reasonable request, from a father who obviously wants to see his son succeed. But here’s the thing - The Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It’s meant for a select few, and I have no idea if you have the guts to see it through.

Statistically, I suspect you do not. Only one out of a hundred Scouts make Eagle, so if you fail, there will be lots of other people with whom you can share excuses. Quitting now might disappoint your Dad, but I doubt that he or anyone else will be overly surprised. Anytime 99 out of 100 people do the same thing, it’s not exactly a shock.

I’m not trying to be cute with a bunch of reverse psychology. When I was 15, there was nothing that anyone could have said to me that would have inspired me to do something I didn't want to do, especially a stranger with a TV show. So I’m not going to assume you’re any different, or pretend that I have some influence or insight that you haven’t already heard from a dozen other people who actually know and care about you. I’ll just tell you straight up, that doing something extraordinary can be very lonely, and most people simply aren’t cut out for it. Being an Eagle Scout requires you to be different than most everyone around you, and being different is really, really hard. That’s why the award is called “an accomplishment.”

Personally, and for whatever it’s worth, the best decisions I've made in my own life, are those decisions that put me on the outside of being cool. Singing in the Opera, working in home shopping, staring in the school play when the entire football team laughed at me, and especially earning my Eagle, were all choices that required sacrifice, hard work, and delayed gratification. I have no idea if you possess those qualities, or even envy them. But I can tell you for certain, that NOT getting your Eagle, will be one of the easiest things you’ve ever done.

Whatever you decide to do Kelby, it's important to remember that the decision is yours. Not your Dad's, not your friend's, and not your Scoutmaster's. And you'll own that decision for the rest of your life.

Good Luck,
Mike

Now for the (ta dah!) Major Announcement: Mike has written the attached letter and will personalize and sign it for any Eagle Scout out there who requests it. All you have to do is mail a self-addressed, stamped ($1.90) envelope (MAKE SURE IT'S A 9x12 SIZED ENVELOPE) to: Eagle Scout Letter, 3727 W. Magnolia Blvd, Suite 300, Burbank, CA 91505. Please allow 12+ weeks for Mike to fill it out, sign it and get it in the mail to you. And folks - this is an offer, a nice thing, a volunteer deal Mike wants to do for you - please don't complain if it takes a while to get to you, OK? It'll get handled as quickly as possible...

UPDATE: We're happy to report that we continue to receive a lot of requests for this letter. Makes us all proud that there are so many Eagle Scouts out there, young or old!

However, we just can't stress enough - you MUST include a self-addressed, stamped ($1.90) 9x12 envelope with the request. Please make sure it has the correct amount of postage. A significant number of you don't do that and that means that all the other Eagle Scouts who DID follow the instructions will receive their letters WAY sooner than those of you who didn't. In fact, if you didn't enclose one, there's no guarantee you will get it. We sincerely don't want any of you guys to be disappointed so PLEASE, please, don't forget to include that. Thanks!

Mike, your Eagle Scout blog post has been linked by a bunch of other blogs either for or about Scouts, Scoutmasters, parents of Scouts, or folks just interested in what you had to say. I was even contemplating posting it here, because your thoughts there apply just as relevantly here.

Thank you for taking the time to write to Kelby. I'm not going for my Eagle Scout Award but I read things in your reply that still touch me where I live. Thank you for being honest and upfront. The things that you wrote about choosing to be different addresses character and will be useful to him for as long as he lives. I find myself hoping for him that he does have what it takes to cross this finish line. However, if he doesn't, there will be other finish lines for him to cross in the future. One of the funny thing about finish lines, tho, is the fact that each one is a building block and helps to prepare us for greater challenges ahead. The building of character. The challenges don't become easier, we are just better prepared to handle them because of things we've done in the past. The finish lines we've crossed.

Well, all of this to just say thank you for sharing the things that you've learned and thot about over the years. When you talk about writing a book, I love your humor and want to see that shine thru, but, I also love the things you say that have great substance like this right here. I'd use my highlighter often, I can assure you.

"those decisions that put me on the outside of being cool." ~Mike Rowe

Mike...thats the line that hits home the most. I never was into scouting, but had to "go against the grain" in my choices of taking trades related electives in High School. Who wants to date "the guy" taking welding and automotive coarses in school.....when you can date the "Star Quarterback".

Last time I checked (via your show, Dirty Jobs.) girls like dirt and the pays not so bad either!